A continuation of the current reissue application has been filed as reissue application Ser. No. 11/635,849, on Dec. 8, 2006. 
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to steel hair clips and other fasteners for holding a significant portion or all of a user's hair in a styled position.
2. Description of Prior Art
Typically, people who have medium to long hair, at times, prefer to wear their hair styled back away from their face and/or up away from their neck. By doing so, people enjoy a quick, easy, and cooler alternative to styling their hair down.
People with inevitably different thicknesses of hair, tend to wear their hair back or up for a significant duration of time if not all day. It is therefore desirable that the hair clip is able to accommodate a variety of hair thicknesses, secure the hair well and provide a comfortable and nonthreatening home for hair.
Clothing stores, beauty supply stores, and supermarkets commonly sell steel hair clips such as the one shown in FIG. 1. These steel hair clips are large enough to hold a whole head of hair as well as supply a mount for a decorative design. While the decorative designs on these hair clips have evolved, minimal improvement to the hair clip itself has been achieved.
Originally, these hair clips were made in such a way that when they were applied, a pivotal lower arm 12, an upper arm 14, and a hinge 16 were in direct contact with the user's hair. This design had three major drawbacks.
First, the antiquated hair clip exposed the hair to the hinge. This made it possible for strands of hair to get caught in or pinched by the hinge while the hair clip was in place. This catching or pinching of the hair likely resulted in hair being broken or damaged. If the hair clip slips or is removed from the user's hair while hair strands are caught in the hinge, those strands will likely be broken, pulled, or pulled out.
Secondly, the hair clip had a strong tendency to slip down out of place. The steel adjoining arms in direct contact with the hair did not cohere to the hair nor did it compact the hair sufficiently, allowing the clip to slip during use. This slipping either reduced the aesthetic effect of the style that was achieved during the clip's initial application or allowed the clip to slip off entirely, loosing all its effectiveness. Deteriorated style and diminished effectiveness reduced user satisfaction. Additionally, if strands of hair were caught in the hinge when the clip slipped, the user would experience pain and discomfort because of those strands being pulled or pulled out.
Thirdly, the hair clip did not fit well to a broad range of hair thicknesses. Due to the uncompressionable nature of the steel, there was little ability for the clip to adjust to varying thicknesses of hair. This being the case, the hair clip did not provide a snug fit to hair thinner than that for which the clip was originally designed. Because the clips were in essence too big for thin hair, accelerated slippage would occur. This accelerated slippage would shorten the time it took to damage, brake, pull, or pull out hair caught in the hinge. Here again, the slippage reduced the aesthetic effect and effectiveness, reducing user satisfaction of the clip.
Again, the prior art shown in FIG. 1 does not do anything to prevent hair from getting caught in the hinge. The steel arms do not cohere to the hair nor compress the hair. The clip does not fit a wide range of hair thicknesses, nor does it give the needed added stability to keep the hair clip in place for a sufficient period of use. This being the situation, the prior art does not secure the hair well nor does it provide comfort and a nonthreatening home for hair, diminishing aesthetics and user satisfaction.